There is a little bit of "personality" in the spacing of the rear stays, but no, it does not rub anywhere. There is actually about 8-10mm of clearance at the SSs. One CS is a little close at the bridge, but I have to check the DO slots for excess PC yet.

Excess PC because the blue was done twice. Originally I wanted it 2-toned like this, but the tape they use that withstands the heat does not bend, so it would have to be straight lines as it is now when I wanted the cut line parallel across both tubes. My instinct told me to let it go and spray the white afterwards, until they suggested a fade. "We do it all the time." "Sounds great!" It weren't.

They did not control the travel of the fade at all; one side being on the DT only, the other being way back on the SS. I was not pleased, and so we settled on this method of solving it. Then, the taped white tracked up from the re-heat, so there are marks in the white powder. Look close and it is a bit disappointing. Put away the microscope and it looks stunning. It's a great five-footer!

The thing that really annoys me is that in talking to the powder guy he said he does it on MC frames all the time and it works great. For some strange reason, he hung my frame vertical instead of horizontal, so the powder mist had to cross the frame on one side as it headed for the fan. Why in he!! they did it in a way other than that which they knew to work is beyond me. 50-75% of the difficulty in any spray job on a part like this is in how you jig it, and they SHOULD be good at that by now, because weird stuff is all they do! The fact that they did not charge me for the redo does not settle all of that, or the "extra weight" of two coatings, but it is what it is.

Would be interested if there is any interference issues with the wide seat stays in how they join the down tube

Not sure what you mean. Remember we have a 100mm (3.94") BB spacing here, and the bullets area is only a combined 3" wide, and well forward of any foot travel. For the same reason, where they are widest should not present any problem either, based on riding and studying my other Fatty.

Assembly begins during the week ahead!

Last edited by TrailMaker; 01-27-2013 at 01:20 PM.

Most people ply the Well Trodden Path. A few seek a different way, and leave a Trail behind.
- John Hajny, a.k.a. TrailMaker

Thanks again Folks. FB; That is quite gracious of you. No one is learning more than I am!

The build began very slightly on Sunday as I gooped the inside of the frame (3M Rust Fighter spray) and did the headset and fork. Today saw the 3M paint protection film I always use installed on the stays to keep them shiny and spiff. The BB, cranks, and FD went on, along with cassette, rotors, adapters, and calipers set floating awaiting custom hoses. Once the bars go on things will really get going.

Might be able to take it out for a shakedown this weekend... if I calculated everything right and didn't forget anything!

Most people ply the Well Trodden Path. A few seek a different way, and leave a Trail behind.
- John Hajny, a.k.a. TrailMaker

They hung my last PC job vertical and managed to get huge drips from every downward facing part :-( then packaged it up completely oblivious to the mess they made - and that was from a company calling itself "Superior Powdercoating"

The PC is not a mess, just not as nice as it should be. Hopefully it does not chip off
easily, being so thick.

First pedal strokes under power today. I goofed on my first frame and the HT that was
supposed to be 70* ended up being somewhere around 71.5*. First impressions of this
bike are, WOW, it steers much nicer! Even with the heavy and grabby Nate tire, the
steering seemed very neutral compared to the very heavy self steer on the Humvee.
Absolutely no foot-to-SS clearance issues at all. Not even close, really. So far; perfect!

I did not know how to bleed the Stroker Trails, so the system is dry. I only fingered the
brake lever once during my test creep! Not NEARLY enough cable in those custom
Jagwire kits for this bike, so I have to order more white housing to finish the FD. Trying to
decide between white Crud Catchers that will contrast (will it look busy?) or black that will
quite possibly disappear visually, keeping the look cleaner. There's certainly no shortage
of visual hooks already!

Tease;

-

Most people ply the Well Trodden Path. A few seek a different way, and leave a Trail behind.
- John Hajny, a.k.a. TrailMaker